Midgame
by surrexi
Summary: Sequel to King's Opening. The crew moves to Skyview Castle, Kivar gets pissy, an old enemy resurfaces, and all's fair in love and war...Ch 5 up!
1. Settling In

Title:  Midgame

Rating:  PG-13/R

Category:  M/L, M/M, Kyle/Isabel

Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the Roswell characters.  They belong to Melinda Metz, Jason Katims, etc.  However I do claim Nikolai, Tristan, Erik, Liam, Serena, and Christiana as mine.  Except for Serena's name...Anyway, don't sue me, you wouldn't win much anyway.

Summary:  Second in the Battlefield Antar series, sequel to King's Opening, and I recommend you read that first.  The crew moves to Skyview Castle.  Kivar gets pissed because his plan to kill Max didn't work.  Isabel and Kyle get closer.  The Resistance gains ground.

**Chapter One – Settling In**

Nikolai, Tristan, Erik, and Liam sat in the entertainment room of the Council's living quarters in Skyview Castle.  Antarian basketball was on, and they were watching and talking, catching up and doing general guy stuff.

"So, Nik, I hope you aren't still hung up on Isabel."

Nikolai glared at Tristan.  "Hit him for me, will you?" he said dryly to Erik.

"You were hung up on Isabel?" Erik asked instead.

Nikolai frowned.  "I was interested in exploring the possibility of something happening, but clearly that's not an option."

"Aww," Liam said jokingly, "Nik's had his heart broken!"

"I have not!" he insisted, and the other guys broke out laughing.

They watched the game for a few minutes before the conversation turned towards more serious matters.

"So Liam, you thought of our next move yet?" Erik asked.

Liam shook his head.  "Right now I'm content to sit on our laurels.  Like Max said yesterday, the army does still need a bit more time to regroup completely.  We lost a few men, and quite a few are still recovering from injuries."

"Max saved quite a few people though.  And he didn't lose his powers at all." Tristan put in.

"They're getting stronger.  Even Liz and Kyle.  I heard Michael thank Liz for saving Max's life again, so she must have done something."  Liam gazed pensively at the television.  "Maybe Rena knows.  I'll ask her later."

"Speaking of Liz," Tristan put in, "Did you hear what she and Isabel are doing?  Well, Isabel mostly but Liz is backing her up completely."

"What?"

"Redecorating," Tristan answered with a purely male shudder.

"They're not making Max, Michael, and Kyle help are they?" Erik asked incredulously.

"Why did you think they aren't here?  Like I wouldn't invite them."

"I thought maybe they just didn't want to come or something."

"Oh, they wanted to.  But the Decorator Nazi, as they referred to her when she wasn't listening, laid down the law.  None of them were allowed to leave the royal wing until she'd decided what color she wanted every wall and they'd made them those colors."  Liam shook his head.  "It's gonna be a long day for the boys."

"At least we're here.  We won the battle.  I know you weren't too worried, Liam, but still..."

"You're right, Tristan."

"I wonder if Kivar's been told yet," Erik mused.

The other three guys snorted.  "I bet the guy who had to tell him was not a happy camper," Nikolai said with a laugh.

Daimtos and Maikos sat in the war room, musing over the previous day.  

The battle and begun and ended all while Kivar was still asleep.  He had awoken cranky, filled with vague memories of dreams that did not go quite his way in the end.  Daimtos and Maikos could tell Kivar was already in a bad mood when he strode into the war room around noon, demanding to know why he'd been summoned to the war room right after waking up.

His mood had not improved when he was told of the loss of Skyview Castle.  At first he said nothing, just stared at his two top generals in disbelief.

"Sir, according to legend we never had a chance anyway," Daimtos had said, in an attempt to calm Kivar.

"I had taken care of that, or so I thought," Kivar had murmured before catching himself.  "LEGEND!" he roared.  "You blame legend for your own incompetence!  It's a wonder I don't fire you...or kill you!"

Daimtos and Maikos had nodded meekly, knowing that once he got over the rage, it would be much easier to deal with him.  Eventually he'd calmed down, and the generals had been able to get him to believe they would win in the end anyway.  But before Kivar had left the war room he had glumly colored in the area surrounding the castle as territory he no longer controlled on the map that covered one wall.  Then he left without a word.

Today, the generals were commiserating.

"We'll never be able to get it back, not unless the king dies."  Maikos' voice was glum.

"No, we won't.  But there will be other victories."

"Maybe.  The king is on a roll, and if we're being honest here, he has the moral right on his side."

"Perhaps, but you should be careful saying that here, my friend."

They sat in sad silence for a few minutes before Maikos spoke again.

"Remind me again why we got into this mess?"

Daimtos smiled humorlessly.  "Because Kivar was our best friend.  And because we were pissed at Zan."

"This is the last time I get into a war because of friendship and a woman."

"Hopefully it's the last time we'll ever get into a war at all."

"If it ever ends."

"It will."  Daimtos got up and stood facing the map, his eyes focused on the dot that represented Skyview Castle.  "He's going to see it through to the end."

Back at Skyview, Max, Michael, and Kyle were taking a break when Isabel stormed into the room.

"There you are!" she exclaimed.  "What do you boys think you're doing?  I need my painters!"

"Hail the Decorator Nazi," Michael mumbled.  Kyle and Max suppressed grins.

"Well since you're in here you can do this room.  I want the walls this shade of red," she ordered, thrusting a paint sample into each man's hand.  "Then you can put up this border right up at the top."  She handed each of them a roll of wallpaper border.  "You shouldn't need paste.  Just do it with your powers.  I'll tell Liz to come do her furniture arranging thing in a half hour, okay?"

Without giving them time to answer, she sped out of the room again, mumbling about lazy men.  The men in question shook their heads and turned to the closest wall.

"So Kyle, I saw you kissing my sister yesterday," Max said in a mock-threatening tone.

"How did I know that was coming?" Kyle mumbled.  "Yeah, so?" he said aloud.

Max turned to face Kyle.

"Be happy."

Kyle blinked.  Just 'be happy?'  He was expecting some kind of big brotherly speech.

Max grinned.  "I've told you before that I trust you.  I meant it.  I don't feel the need to tell you not to hurt her because you should know that I trust you not to."

Kyle nodded, understanding.  Then he looked to Michael.

"You hurt her and we pound your face in," he said with a straight face.  He let Kyle squirm for a second and then broke out into a wide grin.

"You guys are meant, man.  I can't think of anyone I'd rather see her with after everything she's gone through.  Never liked that Jesse guy anyway."

The three men smiled and went back to work.


	2. All Hail the Decorator Nazi

Title:  Midgame

Rating:  PG-13/R

Category:  M/L, M/M, Kyle/Isabel

Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the Roswell characters.  They belong to Melinda Metz, Jason Katims, etc.  However I do claim Nikolai, Tristan, Erik, Liam, Serena, and Christiana as mine.  Except for Serena's name...Anyway, don't sue me, you wouldn't win much anyway.

Summary:  Second in the Battlefield Antar series, sequel to King's Opening, and I recommend you read that first.  The crew moves to Skyview Castle.  Kivar gets pissed because his plan to kill Max didn't work.  Isabel and Kyle get closer.  The Resistance gains ground.

**Chapter 2 – All Hail the Decorator Nazi**

Max, Michael, and Kyle were putting up the last sections of the wallpaper border when Liz entered the room 45 minutes after Isabel left.

"Hey guys," she said with a smile.  "You don't mind helping me move the furniture around a little, do you?"

Max jumped down off his ladder and kissed Liz quickly.  "Of course not.  You asked nicely."

Liz smiled.  "Izzy is kind of in a Nazi mode, isn't she?"

Michael snorted.  "Just a little.  Even Kyle admits it, and he's head over heels in love with her."

Kyle colored.  "Michael..."

Liz laughed lightly and patted Kyle's cheek.  "It's okay, Kyle.  I already knew."

"I'm that transparent?"

"Yes," Liz answered.  She kissed his cheek.  "But you're loveable.  Now I want the couch over there..."

In another part of the Royal wing, Isabel was taking a break and sipping tea with Serena, Christiana, and Maria.

"So, chica," Maria began.  "Tell me all about Kyle."

Isabel tried for a wide-eyed, innocent look.  "What about Kyle?"

"Oh, come on Izzy, we all saw you kiss him when we got here yesterday."

Isabel blushed.  "I...it's too soon to analyze anything, Maria.  Besides, isn't that more of a you and Liz thing anyway?"

"Oh, Christy and I do it too," Serena put in.  "So it's not just Ria and Liz."

"Thanks," Isabel said dryly.

"For instance," Serena continued, "Christiana should tell us all about Tristan."

Christiana blushed.  "What?"

"Tristan's been in love with Christiana for years," Serena informed Maria and Isabel.  "She's been in love with him forever as well, she just won't admit it."

"That's not true!" Christiana protested.

"Oh but it is," Serena said with a laugh.

"Well at least Kyle and Izzy are doing something about their infatuations," Maria said with a grin.  "You know, we could probably set something up..."

"You wouldn't!" Christiana exclaimed.  Maria only grinned.

"I think you need it," Serena commented.

"I think you should give her time," Isabel said, thinking of all her relationships and the decisions she'd had to make.

"Don't listen to her," Maria stage-whispered to Serena.  "Let's come up with a plan."

Isabel and Christiana sighed.

Kivar was in his quarters, nervously pacing his chambers.  He'd been taking a mid-afternoon nap, but had been plagued with dreams about Vilandra-Isabel.  Sometimes she came to him, enticed him.  Sometimes she rejected him.  Sometimes she didn't even acknowledge his existence and he saw her in the arms of a golden-haired man.

"She will come to me," he murmured desperately.  "She will."  He crossed the room and gazed into a mirror.  He still looked and felt as young and handsome as he had fifty years ago, thanks to the wonders of technology.  It was as if those fifty years had never passed.  That, he figured, was in his favor.

He pictured Vilandra standing beside him as she had been fifty years ago.  Beautiful and trusting, then vulnerable, then aching and unbelieving as she watched him murder her family.

He pictured Isabel, with her flowing blonde hair.  He was glad she'd grown it back out and let it return to its original color.  He'd seen her shorter cut and darker color as some kind of rebellion against who she was and who she belonged to.  And he still believed that she belonged to him.  No golden-haired mystery man was going to take her away.  It wouldn't be right.

Kivar stepped away from the mirror and shook off the visions.  He needed to plan.  He needed a way to get Isabel away from her family and friends.  Striding quickly across the room, he picked up a phone and barked an order into it.  Then he walked quickly out of his chambers to the war room.  It was time for a strategy meeting.

Liz, hands on her hips, gazed around the room speculatively.  Then she smiled.  "Perfect," she announced.

"Great," Michael whined.  "Now the Decorator Nazi will come back."

Max walked over to Liz and slid his arms around her waist.  He gave her his best puppy-dog look.  "Are you sure you're done?"

Liz pursed her lips and pretended to consider.  "No, I'm definitely done," she announced.  "But if you run away to hang out with the rest of the guys, I won't tell Isabel where you've gone."

Michael and Kyle let out happy shouts and Max give Liz a hearty kiss.

"Liz, you are my hero," Michael said with a smile.

"Let's make a run for it," Kyle added.  The guys nodded.  Max kissed Liz one more time then headed out the door.  Michael and Kyle followed, each kissing one of Liz's cheeks at the same time.  Liz laughed happily.

A few minutes later Isabel came into the room.

"Where are the guys?" she asked Liz suspiciously.

"I, uh, I don't know, Izzy.  I said I was done and they just bolted."

Liz could see the fire rising in Isabel's eyes.  "Now, Izzy, don't worry, we've got plenty of time to finish.  Besides, we have powers too."

Isabel sighed.  "I know.  It's just so much fun to boss them around."

Liz laughed.  "Yes, it is.  But they do deserve a little fun today."

A/N – I'm sorry that there's more time between updates now, but I am going to college, running two websites, helping moderate one message board, and acting as a reporter for another.  I'll update as often as I can though, so don't give up on me, please.  Thanks for reviewing, and I'm glad you liked the first chapter.  Please continue to review, you know how much I love it...oh, and this will remain Max/Liz, Michael/Maria, and Kyle/Isabel.


	3. What's the Story?

Title:  Midgame

Rating:  PG-13/R

Category:  M/L, M/M, Kyle/Isabel

Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the Roswell characters.  They belong to Melinda Metz, Jason Katims, etc.  However I do claim Nikolai, Tristan, Erik, Liam, Serena, and Christiana as mine.  Except for Serena's name...Anyway, don't sue me, you wouldn't win much anyway.

Summary:  Second in the Battlefield Antar series, sequel to King's Opening, and I recommend you read that first.  The crew moves to Skyview Castle.  Kivar gets pissed because his plan to kill Max didn't work.  Isabel and Kyle get closer.  The Resistance gains ground.

Chapter 3 – What's the Story?

Daimtos and Maikos sat in the war room a few days later, somewhat anxiously awaiting Kivar's arrival.  He'd called an early-morning strategy meeting, and they weren't sure what he had up his sleeve.

"I heard that a high-level transport arrived this afternoon," Daimtos said quietly.

"And we weren't notified?" Maikos asked in surprise.

"Apparently Kivar didn't feel the need.  My source couldn't figure out who was on it."

"You have sources watching our own people now?"

"Even those following the king are our people.  I watch everyone.  Kivar wouldn't have it any other way.  He must have been working very hard to keep this under wraps."

Maikos nodded.  They were silent for a few moments, each thinking deeply.

"He wouldn't have brought back..." Maikos trailed off.

"After all this time?  Would it be worth it?"

"You never can tell with Kivar.  And he has experience with them."

"He lost."

"So did we."

Daimtos said nothing in reply.  He shifted his gaze to the huge map on the wall.  If only Skyview was still the right color.

Max and Liz were sitting on their balcony watching the sunrise.  In the week they'd been at Skyview it had become their habit to do so.

"One thing I can say for Antar," Max commented softly.  "Its sunrises are a hell of a lot better than Earth's."

Liz laughed quietly.  "It is beautiful.  And so is this castle.  I can definitely understand why it was so important to your family."

"Sometimes I wish I could remember more...I think maybe if I could that it would help things."

Liz nodded and squeezed his hand.  "If you're meant to remember, then you will.  You know the story, and you know that Kivar is not the kind of leader who should be in power."

"I know."  Max sighed.  "I just keep thinking...no one has told me why Kivar wanted to seize power in the first place."

Liz felt her eyes widen.  "You're right, they haven't.  I wonder why..."

"Me too.  That's why I want to remember."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, each deep in thought.

"Max!  There's a room in the castle that's just full of records from every year of your family's reign.  It was locked by a member of your family before Kivar captured the castle so that he couldn't get in and destroy the records.  You can open it.  Maybe the whole story will be in there!"

Max gazed at Liz in astonishment.

"How do you know?"

"Serena was telling me about it.  She wanted me to remind her to ask you about opening it.  Apparently she just wanted to check and make sure all the books and manuscripts and stuff are surviving well."  Liz beamed.  "We can find out the truth."

"That's all we've wanted all along."

"I know."

"Do you know where the room is?"

Liz shook her head.  "I'm not sure."

"We could ask Rena or Liam...but they've never told us the whole story and I'm assuming they know.  So maybe they don't want us to know."

Liz shook her head.  "I don't think so.  They weren't alive when it happened.  I'm sure they've told you everything they know."

Max nodded.  "You're probably right.  I trust them completely."

"So should we ask them about it?"

Max considered for a moment.  "I think I want to keep this between you and me for now.  In case we find out something we don't want to tell the others...you know, something they might not want to hear."

"My Max, always out to protect us all," Liz commented with a smile.  "Okay, we'll find it ourselves then.  I think there's a plan of the castle on the wall of the main library.  We should start there."

Max nodded.  They got up from their seats on the balcony and headed indoors.  Max stopped abruptly before he opened the door of their quarters and entered the hallway.

"Liz, no matter what we find out about who I was and...and who I was with, you are the love of my life and my soul mate.  Just know that I will always love only you, okay?"

Liz smiled serenely.  "Max.  I know you love me.  The past is in the past.  We can't change it...well, not easily at any rate," she amended, thinking of Future Max.  "We have to live in the now, Max, and right now you love me.  Right now you and I are bound together so that no one can tear us apart.  Even death couldn't stop us, Max.  Why would I let something that happened over fifty years ago tear us apart?"

Max almost could have cried.  He knew how much Liz loved him, but every time she told him like that, he still had trouble believing that he really deserved it.

"I love you, Liz Evans."

"I love you, Max Evans."

Isabel and Kyle sat sipping coffee in the medium-sized kitchen Isabel had insisted be added on to the royal quarters.  She'd said she could stand having cooks to prepare most of the meals, but she wasn't going to let them do all of the work.  She could hold her own with coffee, tea, and simple meals, and she damn well would.

Over the week that the group had been living in Skyview Castle, Isabel and Kyle had spent quite a bit of time together, but they were still getting used to the fact that they'd finally acknowledged the feelings they had for each other.

"I keep feeling like we should go on a date," Kyle commented, setting down his coffee mug.  "But I don't know where we could go or what we could do."

Isabel smiled.  "Yeah, it's not like there's a movie theatre or a great restaurant nearby."  She reached across the table and took Kyle's hand.  "It's okay though.  It's enough for me that I'm with you at all."  She sighed.  "For the past year, I've gone through some pretty tough stuff.  Leaving Jesse was hard.  But I know he's moved on and I know that I have too.  And the main reason I had the strength to let both he and I let go was you.  You are my rock, Kyle.  You have been even longer than I've had romantic feelings for you.  I don't know what I'd do without you."

Kyle gave a serious smile.  "Isabel, I think I love you."

Isabel's eyes widened.  "I might love you," she said softly.  Neither one of them wanted to push it and actually say the words all by themselves, but it was enough for the moment.  Isabel smiled and took a sip of coffee.

A/N – Thanks for the continued feedback guys.  Again, I apologize about the time between chapters, but rest assured that I won't abandon this story!  Keep reviewing, I live for feedback, lol...


	4. Q & A

Title:  Midgame

Rating:  PG-13/R

Category:  M/L, M/M, Kyle/Isabel

Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the Roswell characters.  They belong to Melinda Metz, Jason Katims, etc.  However I do claim Nikolai, Tristan, Erik, Liam, Serena, and Christiana as mine.  Except for Serena's name...Anyway, don't sue me, you wouldn't win much anyway.

Summary:  Second in the Battlefield Antar series, sequel to King's Opening, and I recommend you read that first.  The crew moves to Skyview Castle.  Kivar gets pissed because his plan to kill Max didn't work.  Isabel and Kyle get closer.  The Resistance gains ground.

**Chapter 4 – Q & A**

Max and Liz stood in front of the huge map of the castle that decorated an entire wall of the main library.

"I didn't realize this castle was so big..." Liz commented in a slightly awed tone.

"I knew, but I really hadn't realized it until now.  It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack."

Liz glanced from one end of the map to the other.  "Look, you start at that end, and I'll start at the other and we'll meet in the middle, okay?"

Max nodded.  "Okay."

Liz let out a small sigh.  It was incredible how big the map was.  Max heard her sigh and felt a twinge of guilt.

"Liz, I want you to know how grateful I am for your help...I keep pulling you into these quests to find out more about my past, and you help me.  You help me even though you know that everything we could possibly uncover could be something people could use to hurt our relationship."

Max reached out and caressed Liz's cheek gently.

"Why did you stick by me?"

"Max.  I love you more than anything else in the universe.  Even after everything, if I had cut you off from me, I would have cut myself off from me."  Liz reached up and ruffled Max's hair.  "Go look at your end of the map."

Max nodded and stepped up to the end of the map.  Liz watched him for a second, a small, slightly sad smile on her face, and then turned to her side of the map.

Michael and Maria were walking in the castle's gardens, hand in hand and just enjoying the beauty of the gardens.

"Why did you..." Michael began, then shook his head.  "Never mind."

"No, ask me.  Why did I what?"

"Just...why?  Why did you stick with me?  Why did you agree to come with us to Antar?  Why didn't you run while you had the chance?"

Maria stopped walking and turned to face Michael.

"You have to ask?  After all this time you have to ask?"  She shook her head.  "I swear, Spaceboy.  Sometimes you are so dense!"  Maria's face softened.  "I love you, Michael Guerin.  I thought about my life with you, and I thought about my life without you.  And I decided that I liked it better when I was with you."

"How can it be that simple?"

"Michael, what does it matter now?  I'm happy, and even if I wasn't, there isn't anything I could do about it now, is there?"

"I know, Ria.  I just have to know that you are still happy."

Maria smiled and placed her hands on Michael's cheeks.  "When I'm with you, I'm happy.  You are all I need to be happy, Spaceboy.  Don't ever leave me, okay?"

"Okay."  Michael pulled Maria into his arms and cradled her head against his chest.

Kyle was hanging out in the game room with Tristan, Nikolas, Erik, and Liam.  They were showing him the ropes of the different Antarian games, their similarities and differences to their counterparts on Earth.

"Oh, pool." Kyle commented.  "I like pool."

Liam chuckled.  "Now that's a game that's exactly the same.  Actually, we sort of borrowed it straight from Earth."

Kyle smiled.  "So the rules are the same?"

"Pretty much."

"Who wants to play?"

Nikolas grinned.  "I'm in.  Anybody else?"  The others shook their heads.

"We'll just watch.  Should be a good game," Tristan said dryly.

Isabel glanced around her bedroom with a satisfied smile.  This room she'd done herself, carefully decorating it so that it wasn't like either of the rooms she'd lived in back on Earth.  She sat down on her bed and pulled a picture frame off of her bedside table.  It was a picture from junior prom, one of her and Alex.

"Would you be proud of me now, Alex?  Have I made the right decisions?"  She brushed her fingers lovingly over Alex's face.  "Would you want me to be with Kyle?"

"There's no one else I'd pick for you, Isabel."

Isabel jumped off the bed.  "Alex!  What?  What are you doing here?"

"I'll always be a part of you, Isabel.  You know that.  And you also know that I want you to be happy.  Kyle will make you happy.  Be with Kyle."  So saying, the image of Alex faded away as quickly as it had come.

"I think I'll take a nap," Isabel murmured, thinking out loud.  She lay down on the bed, pulled a blanket over her body, and closed her eyes.

Kivar swept into the war room, where Maikos and Daimtos sat anxiously awaiting his arrival.  They jumped to their feet and saluted him.

"Sit down, Generals," he ordered tersely.  They quickly sat.  "Generals, this morning a high-level transport arrived under my watch."

"Sir, may I ask why we weren't given advance notice of this?"

"No, General Daimtos, you may not.  On that transport was your new superior."

Daimtos and Maikos looked at each other seriously.  Kivar was creating a position above them.  Previously they had only answered to Kivar.  Kivar pressed a button on the table in front of him.  Seconds later the door to the war room opened and a tall man strode confidently in.

_I'll be damned, Daimtos thought.  __He did bring him back.  After all that crap on Earth, he brings that little bastard back.  On top of Maikos and me no less!_

"General Daimtos, General Maikos.  Good to see you again.  It's been what, fifty years, give or take?  You've been well, I see."

"Nicholas," Daimtos and Maikos replied coldly.

"Gentlemen, I'll be taking over all of your decision-making duties.  You answer to me.  I answer to Kivar.  That's the way things will be now, got it?"

Daimtos ignored Nicholas and turned to Kivar.

"You made this decision without talking to us?  You brought him on board again without asking our opinions?  What were you thinking?"

"How dare you speak to me like that?"

"Because we used to be friends, Kivar.  You used to trust us.  Remember?"

"I still do!  I just think Nicholas can do a better job than you can.  You know it's true."

Maikos slammed his hand on the table.  "A better job?  You mean like he did back on Earth?  That was successful."

"Shut up, Maikos," Nicholas cut in.  "I know the way that bastard of a king operates.  I know his weaknesses.  I know what makes him tick.  You know nothing about him, and you can't find out shit because you can't get past the security."

"And you can?"

"We'll see, won't we.  Ready the troops."

"The troops.  What are you thinking?"

"We start an offensive campaign.  Why are we staying on the defensive here?"

"Because we're safer that way.  That's all we have to do."

"Wrong!" Kivar bellowed.  "We have to beat them!  We are the revolutionaries here."

"It's been fifty years, Kivar.  We are longer revolutionaries.  You are living in the past, and that's dangerous."

"Then leave me to my danger.  Get out of here.  Go back to your offices and await further orders.  From Nicholas."

Daimtos and Maikos stood up, full of outraged dignity, and walked out of the room.

A/N – As ever, I apologize for the time between updates.  If you're still sticking with me and reading this, I seriously adore you.  I promise that I will keep updating whenever possible.  This story will not be abandoned!


	5. The Game of Love

Title:  Midgame

Rating:  PG-13/R

Category:  M/L, M/M, Kyle/Isabel

Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the Roswell characters.  They belong to Melinda Metz, Jason Katims, etc.  However I do claim Nikolai, Tristan, Erik, Liam, Serena, and Christiana as mine.  Except for Serena's name...Anyway, don't sue me, you wouldn't win much anyway.

Summary:  Second in the Battlefield Antar series, sequel to King's Opening, and I recommend you read that first.  The crew moves to Skyview Castle.  Kivar gets pissed because his plan to kill Max didn't work.  Isabel and Kyle get closer.  The Resistance gains ground.

**Chapter 5 – The Game of Love**

"Eight ball, corner pocket."  Kyle leaned over the pool table and carefully lined up his shot, then sent the eight ball rolling straight into the pocket he'd called.  He flashed a grin over at Nikolai.  "My game.  You played well, though."

Tristan, Erik, and Liam immediately started ribbing Nikolai.

"Look at you, beaten at your own game!" Liam said in a mock-derisive tone.

"Geez, Nik!  You let him take your girl, your game, what's next?" Tristan added.

Kyle shot an inquisitive glance between Tristan and Nikolai.  "His girl?" he asked mildly.

"Simmer down, pool shark."  Nikolai leaned relaxed against his pool cue.  "I briefly entertained the idea of going for Isabel, but clearly there's something between the two of you.  Therefore I abandoned the idea, but the guys aren't finished making fun of me for it."

Kyle nodded.  "I see."

Nikolai grinned.  "Two out of three?"

"For the game, not for the girl."

"Deal," Nikolai replied as the three other men burst out laughing.

Isabel didn't usually take naps, but after her vision of Alex, she thought it was best.  Curled comfortably in bed, she drifted in dreams.

***Begin Dream***

She wandered aimlessly through the gardens of Skyview Castle.  Suddenly, she heard a voice call her name.

"Isabel..." 

"Who's there?"

"Isabel..."

"Kyle?  Is that you?  Where are you?"  All she ever heard in response was her name, but she followed the voice for what seemed like forever.  She stopped in a clearing and realized with a touch of fear the she had wandered off of the castle grounds.

"Kyle?" she ventured softly.

"Vilandra," said a deep voice behind her.  She whirled and gasped.

"You!"

"You were expecting someone else?  Kyle?  Kivar?  You have a thing for men with "K" names, don't you, Vilandra?"  Nicholas grinned.  "Or did you not expect to see me all grown up?  Like what you see?"  He stepped closer, and Isabel realized he had a good two inches on her, and she was tall.

"Get out of my dream!" she exclaimed, jumping away.

Nicholas sighed.  "Just like the old days.  You never wanted me.  It was just 'take me to Kivar, Nicholas, I don't want to talk to you.'"

"I don't know what you are talking about!"

Nicholas stepped closer again.  "I can help you remember.  Remember the old days, when you were young and in love."

"I am young.  And I've been in love.  I don't need you to help me remember."

"But you want to remember."  He reached out and touched her hair.  "Kivar wants you back, Vilandra."

"My name is Isabel."

"Vilandra is inside you, Isabel.  She wants to come out and play.  Kivar can help you."

"Kivar can go to hell.  And so can you."

"Sassy.  Kivar likes that.  Makes the game more challenging.  We will meet again, Vilandra."

Nicholas vanished, and Isabel was alone in the castle gardens.

***End Dream***

Isabel sat straight up in bed, her breathing uneven and her heartbeat fast.

"Oh, God."  She sat in silence for a few more moments, and then she got out of bed and meticulously made the bed.  "No more naps for Isabel."

Meanwhile, Max and Liz were still examining the map in the library.

"How can this castle possibly be this big?" Liz murmured.

"I can't believe it," Max said in agreement.

"Oh my God, Max, I think I found it!"

Max rushed to Liz's side.  "What?  Where?"

Liz pointed to a small room in the middle of a lower level.  "Right there.  'Records Room.'  That could be it, Max."

"It's our best bet at the moment."  He glanced at his watch.  "Damn, it's lunch time."

"We could skip..." Liz began, then cut herself off.  "No, we planned to eat with the gang today, didn't we?  Can't skip lunch."

"Meetings are important."

"I hope this doesn't turn into a meeting," Liz murmured softly.

Max reached out and touched Liz's cheek, his eyes full of sympathy and sorrow.  "I hope so too."

They both knew that chances were something would have happened to someone and it would have to be reported.  At least they weren't reporting anything yet.  Maybe that meant they'd get by for one day.  One day without a crisis.  One lunch where they could focus on mundane things like the favorite room in the castle or the favorite part of the gardens.

Max wrapped his arm around Liz's waist and they made their way toward the informal dining room.

A/N – Well, this update came a little more quickly.  Happy...Liz-had-nothing-to-do Day, lol...Hope you like it!


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